Final assembly of first THAI A380 begins

Assembly of the first A380 for Thai Airways International (THAI) has now commenced at the Airbus Final Assembly Line in Toulouse. The final assembly process of an A380 is made up of several phases. At the first station, front, central, and aft fuselages, wings, horizontal and vertical tail planes (HTP and VTP) are assembled. The aircraft is then moved to the second station where general tests on electric/hydraulic systems, mobile parts and landing gears are carried out, while engines also are installed. During the third phase, final ground and first engines tests take place in dedicated facilities outside of the main building. Finally, the A380 is prepared for its first flight to the Airbus facilities in Hamburg, where the cabin will be installed and the aircraft painted in the airline’s livery. THAI will become the ninth operator of the A380 when it takes delivery of its first aircraft in the third quarter of 2012. The airline has firm orders for six A380s and will operate the aircraft on its premier routes from Bangkok to Europe.